Yesterday while I was registering my son for middle school, a family walks in and the wife is pushing the husband in a wheelchair. At first, I thought nothing of it and continued with my paperwork.
The wife was greeted by the Middle School Staff and was asked how she was doing. She walked over the the secretary shaking her head, stress on her face.
"He just got home," she said.
"What happened to him?" asked the secretary.
"An IUD," she responded. "He was in the hospital for two weeks after his surgery before they let him come home. It's been hard. This was his 3rd time over there, you know?"
"I'm sorry to hear that Mrs. Jones (Name changed)? I know that's tough, but thank God he's alive!"
The woman shook her head and agreed.
As a military spouse, I certainly pray for all of the soldiers. But sometimes I forget just how close we are as military families. We may not know them, but they are our family. I forget just how blessed my own family is that our Soldier returned home safe, healthy.
Every family doesn't have the luxury of saying that their Soldier returned home uninjured. Some don't have the luxury of saying that their Soldier returned home at all.
Yesterday was the first time I felt compelled to stop a Soldier and just say THANK YOU! I've had many people stop my husband, and myself, and thank us for our service to the military. I've hugged many Soldiers returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq as they stepped off the buses to greet their families. I have a Soldier at home who has done the same as these Soldiers and has put his life of the line in a war zone. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own stories that we forget to acknowledge others. I've thanked Soldiers on my Facebook page and in my writings on my blog. But I'd never stopped a Soldier, out of the blue, and thank him or her for the freedom we have here at home, for serving and putting his or her life on the line.
Yesterday I did. I will continue to do so.
2 comments:
That is so true Kay. People dont truly understand the sacrafices military families undergo on a regular basis. From training to deployments, our soldiers are always in harmsway. Thank you for thanking a soldier besides your very own. I will do the same now. Great idea!!
Sabrina
What a great story...it's very hard on the families left behind. Although my husband was not in the military, three of my kids have served, and it's been very difficult. Every time someone rang my doorbell, I would freak out...We're down to just one still in the military, but she's not in the combat zone at this time, thank goodness.
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